Rangers open State Varsity Hockey Tournament against Oahe

Troy Maroney/Register File: Cody Niklason, shown scoring an unassisted power-play goal during the first period of the Rangers’ 6-4 South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association loss to Mitchell on Nov. 25, 2018, at Larson Ice Center, will be one of the players that Ranger head coach Justin Kirchhevel will need to step up to give Brookings a shot at the state title.

By: Troy Maroney, The Brookings Register - Updated: 1 week ago

Posted Mar 14, 2019

The Rangers open the South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association Varsity State Tournament against the host Capitals on Friday in Ft. Pierre.

The puck drops at 9:35 a.m. for sixth-seeded Brookings and No. 3 Oahe.

Coming into the tournament, No. 1 seed Sioux Falls looks to be the clear favorite as the Flyers haven’t lost a league game this season.

The only blemishes on the top-seeded Flyers’ record are two ties – 4-4 at Oahe and Huron on back-to-back nights – on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3.

“The top six out of the eight teams are above .500 this year, so it’s going to come down to whoever puts the best three games together,” said Kirchhevel of what it’s going to take to win the tournament. “It’s one game at a time, but at the end of the weekend, it’s basically whoever can have a complete three games.”

Not only will the Rangers need three complete games, their path to the title would take them right through the top three teams, if they knock off the Capitals and the other seeds hold true.

“I’ve never been the sixth seed before,” Kirchhevel said of the Rangers’ situation, “but it will be hard putting three solid games together when we play three tough teams – Oahe has a lot of offensive power; Rapid City comes at you from all angles; and Sioux Falls is a complete team.

“You really have three different teams that you’re looking to play, so you have to play three different styles – I feel optimistic and I’m excited for the challenge.”

What’s it going to take for the Rangers to win it all?

“I think it depends on our goal scoring – we play great team defense usually all of the time – but it’s going to be who’s going to step up and get those dirty goals that we talk about and need,” said Kirchhevel. “It’s just one of those things – we’ll have to see if somebody can step up and be a leader for our team.”

By the Numbers

• No. 3 Oahe (13-3-1-1) vs. No. 6 Brookings (9-9-0-0)

9:35 a.m.

Head-to-Head – The teams split their season series as the Capitals won 4-0 on Jan. 20 in Pierre and the Rangers won 3-0 on Feb. 23 at Larson Ice Center.